Now he is in the final, and tonight will attempt to prevent Novak Djokovic claiming a third Grand Slam trophy of 2016.
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Djokovic reached his 21st Grand Slam final and seventh at the U.S. Open with a unusual 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils (GAH’-ehl mohn-FEES’). He was missing a lot the first set and also I was playing good tennis, but I think he made some changes and he was starting to play better. That was when Wawrinka began working with Magnus Norman, and under the watchful eye of the Swede, Wawrinka has boosted both his game and his self-belief by several notches.
For Djokovic it is a chance to win a 13th Grand Slam title and a third US Open crown. Wawrinka went up 5-4 and secured the set with a late break.
Will it be lucky #13 for #Djokovic? “To play Novak in the final.is going to be something special”.
The 12-time Grand Slam victor is determined not to add a third loss to that list. But he just didn’t have enough left to pull ahead and couldn’t take advantage of enough openings on Wawrinka’s serve. Coming in, he looked more vulnerable than he did invincible.
Djokovic described Wawrinka as “a big-match player”.
So many of his peers, Wawrinka said, faced the Federers, Djokovics, Nadals and Murrays “not even thinking they can beat them. I’m very, very pleased to have achieved this result”.
“That’s really disappointing, especially second set”, Nishikori said.
Wawrinka appears to have built up the momentum required to test the Serb.
However, he has rarely been tested in NY and will be boosted in the knowledge that he has won 19 of his previous 23 meetings with Wawrinka.
Wawrinka was match point down against Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round in NY but a kind draw has allowed him to find his stride and he will be a unsafe opponent this weekend. His return of serve ranks up there with the best ever. “And the only reason I say bordering is because it’s working”.
For the last two weeks, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, the Ukraine, Argentina, and today, Japan all mumbled to themselves as Wawrinka fought through right to the US Open Final.
Djokovic had spent only six hours and 24 minutes on court in reaching the semi-finals, thanks in part to one walkover and two retirements.
“And in Grand Slam is where I want to play my best tennis”. He can play it all. But I expect and hope people come to love Novak as much as Roger and Rafa’. “He can be very dangerous”. He actually likes playing in big matches. “Just gets much better”.
“It’s not easy when you have to play number two, number three and (number one) Novak was waiting in the finals”.
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“I have an extra day now to recover and get ready for the finals, which is, you know, where definitely I desire to be whenever I come to the Grand Slams”, said Djokovic, the No. 1 seed and defending champion. But it’s going to be a completely different match. “As Wawrinka told The Daily Telegraph before last year’s Wimbledon “[I am] the only player who can really push him back, make him feel uncomfortable”.
